Chapter 59– Czar

Chapter 59– Czar
The most I've been able to come up with is: first, Solis might have Hera's parents. Also, based on the very graphic warning they sent her way, Solis doesn't want Hera looking for them, not because they're dead and their murders need to be covered up– I already mentioned how I had reason to believe they were still alive– but because the organization is still using them. The duo are lawyers and shoddy unauthorised pharma companies like Solis would be needing the wealth of their knowledge and experience in law to cover their tracks, plus, given the kind of profile the North couple have, chances are that they are the best out there.

And if I'm being honest, I too would get people that good on my legal team if the need arose. I would definitely kidnap them if that was the only way they got to cooperate.

Well fuck.

I take a moment to tell myself that I'm a degenerate criminal and really not the best for Hera… then swing right back to work because guilty conscience has nothing on me. Let's also not forget that faced against people like this, unfortunately for Hera's morals I'm her only hope. On the bright side, I'm ready to descend down hell for her sake even though I haven't been paid this week. If I didn't know better I would even think she was acting up just to evade this weekend's payment, avoid seeing me.

But that nagging feeling refuses to leave– something is clearly up and I will get to the bottom of it. It's just kinda hard trying to do that with someone who is not responsive… so I've mostly been left with my thoughts and surmises and those can only go so far even with an experienced detective and seasoned felon like myself involved.

I suppose that explains why I've been failing at understanding Hera. Usually I don't do emotions so it's not all that shocking that I’m unable to properly read my petulant blue-eyed ghost. I find myself more comfortable working with facts and figures– empirical data; things I can observe, predict and control, not mental guesses or sentiment.

It's one of the reasons I decided to give Hera the space she'd been asking for. Because I have no idea what the fuck I am going to do with her now that she won't let me see her. As for the area I am skilled at– data, figures, digital back doors… I've been focused on it, trying to crack the investigation I started on her behalf, difficult as the case first proved.

Right now I'm simultaneously initiating a blanket download of every single mail [email protected] ever received– with the hopes of linking other parties involved for a proper investigation– as well as cleaning my digital footprints– traces of my unauthorized entry into his private mailbox.

It will take me at least three days of intense effort to go through everything I am currently copying to my system but it's for my Mini Poltergeist so I have the time. If I can find Solis then I should be able to locate her parents. It's why I undertook this investigation in the first place: to find them for her, wipe the melancholy that follows her around like a shroud away.

‘Download in progress…’

I'm drumming my pinky finger on my mouse pad when I get the first alert.

‘Warning… Malware detected…. System Failure Imminent.’

Shit.

Someone knows I'm in. And the information I'm currently in the process of duplicating to my own PC? Only fabricated. Most likely nonsense files with a virus capable of crashing my whole system attached to it like some complimentary gift. I should know. I have made many like it to protect my own documents. Again, it shouldn't have taken me this long to notice but then my brain is in the fryer at this point. Fuck you, Hera.

The witch cast a spell on me. I want to fuck her upside down until she's chanting nonsense words for all the frustration she's put me through. But first I do damage control. In mere seconds, I have shut the download down, cleared my system of the malware. Good news, I don't need to condemn my portable computer. As for the bad… well I'm now shut out of Solis until I can find some other structural weakness to exploit which of course will take time. I need another email. A genuine one. Or a real name linked to an actual identity. A gym membership. A lash extension. A whisker. Something.

In other words, I am in a worse mood than I started with. I shut my computer down and take a stroll to the living area of my open floor apartment to clear my head. After a drink of water I grab a hoodie and nose mask then head out. While I understand that I can't crack Solis now, I can at least carry out some personal investigation that won't involve sitting and staring at screens.

I haven't seen Hera in quite a while so I head for her house. At the gates I meet an astonishing sight. The place, it so turns out, is lit. About four windows upstairs and seven down are reflecting bright fluorescent light like beacons of sorts. Prior to this moment only my Witch’s bedroom usually did.

In addition, there are about three Mercedeses and two Lamborghinis in the premises as well as lots of sound coming from the mansion itself. I am still wondering what on earth is going on until I realize that it's Easter today. Probably why there is a full house. I am well-aware that Hera has other family members who lead very busy lives in the cities and of course are never able to make time to come to Novadale until it's a very important holiday. She never mentioned it once but I know.

I head across the grounds, drifting quietly along the walls, not stopping until I see the family through a patio door having dinner in a section of the large kitchen. Hera is in the centre of the conversation yet not really there, looking like she would rather be sharpening knives, farming office pins or something. The deep scowl building on her features is one step away from total escape.

I send her a text.

Lone Wolf: Why do you look like you're having so much fun?

As her phone blinks on with the message her gaze goes to it then turns to the nearest window for a brief moment like she can even see me hiding in the shadows.

Then she drops her phone on the table beside her plate and ignores it.